Heather Yakin: Report debunks myth of rape as stranger attack

There's a new federal report out on sexual violence against women, and it dispels the myth of rape as a crime committed by a stranger lurking in the bushes.

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By Heather Yakin

recordonline.com

By Heather Yakin

Posted Mar. 13, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Heather Yakin
Posted Mar. 13, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

There's a new federal report out on sexual violence against women, and it dispels the myth of rape as a crime committed by a stranger lurking in the bushes.

From 2005 to 2010, 78 percent of all sexual violence against women nationwide was perpetrated by a family member, an intimate partner, a friend or an acquaintance.

That's right: Rape is another tool of control used by abusers. Sexual violence is all too often part of domestic violence.

The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics last week released "Female Victims of Sexual Violence, 1994-2010," a report analyzing data on completed, attempted and threatened sexual assaults from the National Crime Victimization Survey. That's a large-scale survey (in 2010, interviewers surveyed 146,570 people) designed to suss out how often certain types of crimes occur, and how often those crimes are reported to authorities.

The report shows that since 1994, the percentage of sexual assaults and attempts committed by an intimate partner has risen: from 28 percent in 1994-1998, to 30 percent in 1999-2004 and then to 34 percent in 2005-2010.

Activists have worked hard to dispel the benighted notion that women who are assaulted have done something to bring it on, but you know the attitude is still there. Here are some facts to dispel the idea that someone is responsible for another person's violent behavior: The survey showed that roughly half of all sexual assaults happened in the woman's home (55 percent in 2005-2010). Just under a third happen while women are traveling to work or shopping or school or away from home for a leisure activity. You know, when they're just minding their own business.

None of this is a surprise to those in the know. I remember years ago, speaking to a sexual assault counselor who told me she'd only seen one victim in a year who'd been raped by a stranger. All of the other perpetrators were partners, acquaintances and relatives.

Overall, sexual assaults against women and girls older than 12 dropped from a high of 5.0 per 1,000 women in 1995 to 1.8 per 1,000 women in 2005. Since then, the rate has stayed flat.

This isn't a status quo that we should accept.

According to the anti-violence movement One Billion Rising, one in three women worldwide will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime. That's you or your sister, your mother or your daughter.

How do we stop it? We stop tolerating the culture that allows abusers to convince themselves that "no" means "maybe." We stop excusing high school football players who think a girl who's drunk to the point of unconsciousness is fair game. We call out politicians who try to parse "real rape" based on a woeful ignorance of basic biology.

We recognize that women are people, with full rights under law, and the right to determine the path of their own lives.